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A Tribute to some Special Men in My Life

Hello out there readers! It has been a sad couple of weeks for many people. For me, it started with the death of Rick Wright. For those who don’t know the name, you probably have heard some of his work. Rick Wright was my inspiration a long time ago. He was the man on the “keys” for Pink Floyd. I remember listening to a radio interview from the BBC when I was much younger. One of the interviewers said that Rick Wright used to take apart his instruments and then put them back together. I’m quite certain I will never get that information actually verified as fact, but at the time I heard it – I thought that was the best idea ever. Of course, I learned the hard way that taking apart an instrument as complex as an electronic synthesizer and then putting it back together was an extremely difficult task.

I managed to put everything back into its original place – but only because I had no other choice if I wanted to contiue playing that particular instrument. I wondered why Mr. Wright would do such a thing before I started, but several weeks later, after finally putting my synthesizer back together in good working order – I had learned so much about all the little parts and pieces and their function. Even if Mr. Wright never really took apart and put back together any of his keyed instruments, I still credit him with helping me understand electronics far better than I ever would had I not taken apart my own keyed instruments. Nowadays, I can pretty much take apart anything and put it all back together properly again. I learned to appreciate electronic instruments and the sounds they make because of Rick Wright. Not to mention I am a fan of Pink Floyd.

I was exposed to Pink Floyd by the age of two or three probably. I remember “The Wall” being the album that everyone talked about. I also remember “Dark Side of the Moon” being the first Floyd album I owned myself. I differ from many Floyd fans in that my favorite Floyd album isn’t either of the two I already mentioned. My personal Floyd favorite has been and will always be “The Final Cut.” I enjoy “Works” and “The Division Bell”, but “The Final Cut” is what I think is Floyd’s best. Some people have told me that the FC is way too depressing because it’s about someone killing himself. I personally don’t find it depressing – I find it real. Besides, the actual song “Final Cut” ends with “but I never had the nerve to make the Final Cut.” It has great flow and energy. That album sits very high-up on my “favorite all-time albums” list. Only Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” is higher. I am happy to have learned from Richard Wright, even if indirectly and maybe even falsely. My world is a better place because of his work.

As some may also know, Bernie Mac died at age 50 about a week or so ago as well. I have to admit that I hadn’t heard much about Bernie Mac until I ran across the first season of the “Bernie Mac Show.” I watched the entire first season and much of the second season. I realized that I had seen Bernie Mac elsewhere after a while. I really liked his show – even though I had heard rumblings here and there that it was too rough, I thought his show was great, especially because of the scenes featuring Bernie talking to the camera about what’s going on in his house. Someone who knew me very well once informed me that I have certain personality traits that reminded him of Bernie Mac.

At the time that I heard I was similar to Bernie Mac, I had thought that I, as a younger, white, female, shouldn’t be compared to Bernie Mac. However, I watched a stand-up comedy special which included Bernie Mac about a year after being compered to him. I had no choice to admit that there are certain personality traits that we do share in common. People who don’t know me very well would not pick-up the commonality at all, most likely, but my friend noticed, and then so did I. It makes me sad to know that Bernie Mac doesn’t have any more time left to do what he does, but I truly hope that all of his problems are now over and that he is in blissful peace – hanging out with Rick Wright maybe? Or maybe he’s hanging out with Paul Newman!

Yes, I had to get to Paul Newman. He also died recently of Cancer. Now, I am one of those people who never really understood that draw of Paul Newman. I think I am too young to appreciate Mr. Newman as he rightly should be appreciated. I have seen many films that include or feature Paul Newman, including “Slap Shot”, which as a hockey fan, is of course, one of my favorite films. As odd as it may seem to some, I have decided that Paul Newman was so good at what he does, that I didn’t even notice his greatness. I am not sure that I could explain it any better than that. He gave a lot to charity and I’m sure that he is peaceful now and his grand blue eyes see no longer see evil.

While I’m on the subject of people who have been some sort of influence on my life, I have to mention Tim Russert. He died on the Friday before father’s day this year. Most people will recognize him as one of the political experts who worked for NBC for many years. Some may know also that he was from Buffalo, NY and that he wrote a couple of books about his relationship with his father and in response, relationships of others with their fathers. I never really addressed my thoughts on his passing in any of my three blogs, so I decided I would include Tim Russert in this entry as well.

As far as politics go – I tend to keep quiet about many issues. If people ask me, I tell them I am now a registered Independent. In Maryland, being an Independent precludes me from voting in the Primary Election, as is the regulation in my state. I am for my country and it’s health in this world, so I vote, but I am neither a Democrat, nor a Republican. To be true to my beliefs as an American, I became a registered Independent as soon as it became a possibility in my state. Because I cannot vote in the Primaries, I trusted all the rest of the Americans who were able and did vote in the Primaries. Now I have to decide amoung FOUR people. I am not deciding between TWO people. If the President becomes unable to perform his duties, the VP will be in charge. I am not voting for a particular party, so I don’t have to worry about anyone’s “Party Lines”.

I am a proud and informed voter. I would not be if Tim Russert had never existed. The guy was just plain enthusiastic. He really loved and supported Buffalo sports teams, which I personally admire and practice when it comes to my Washington Capitals. It will never matter to me where I go or what I do, or if I never go anywhere or do anything, I will always outwardly and loudly cheer on my Washington Capitals. I learned so much from watching and listening to Tim Russert. His dedication surely succeeded in educating young voters – there is no doubt about that. I suppose for me, I’d also have to mention Jon Stewart, of “The Daily Show” fame.

Before my father died, he spent a lot of time in Bed. By the time he had completely stopped reading, he was hooked on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart. He pushed that show on me – there is no question about that. I did, after some time, become a regular watcher of the Jon Stewart show. I learn a lot from his show, because there is humor in the “fabric” of “The Daily Show”. Humor is usually the best way to get my attention, which is something I shared with my father.

My dad started watching “The Jerry Springer Show” and “Pokemon” a couple of years before finally passing, but I’m still a big fan of Jon Stewart and I now find different ways to get the information I used to get from Tim Russert.

GO DUDES! If the ladies tell you they don’t like you – They’re lying (but don’t tell ’em I told you). I LOVE THE DUDES!!! MEN ROCK! (to be E.R.A. compliant – the ladies know how to the ROCK the house too – it’s just MAN DAY in my world today)

It’s time to sign-off for a bit – NHL Hockey is COMING VERY SOON! GO CAPS GO!!! (now those dudes REALLY ROCK – oh, that’s right – can you say “Sergei Federov” or how about Ovechkin, Semin…) peace-mia